It is 6:45 a.m. and the phone alarm clock is vibrating. After picking up the phone and opening the weather app, it is revealed that it is a sunny day with a low of 36 degrees and a high of 54 degrees. The day prior, it was snowing with a high of 28 degrees. Still, in the daydreamy state of waking up, nothing is thought of the drastic weather change. However, these meteorological inconsistencies have been caused by climate change.
According to the United Nations, climate change is defined as long-term changes in weather patterns. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation and greenhouse gasses–like Carbon Dioxide and Methane–are leading causes of this issue. The effects of climate change include global warming, severe storms, droughts, fires, flooding and loss of species.
“The wildfires in California are a great example of how scary climate change is, especially how fast they are spreading and how difficult they are to contain,” WCHS junior Jana Miller said. “Also, coming across videos of ice caps melting and animals, like the polar bears, trying to find somewhere else to live because their home is vanishing is truly devastating.”
As a result of the increased temperatures, California is drier than ever before, making the spread of fire easier. Moreover, the higher temperatures have led to habitat loss for native species, particularly in colder areas like Antarctica. While these are extreme examples, Maryland has seen its fair share of growing temperatures.
“Aside from this year’s unusually cold winter, in Maryland, there are really high temperatures, [compared to the stereotypical winter condition], throughout November to February that are concerning,” Miller said. “While normally it does get cold, it never gets to the point where you will see most students wearing a jacket to school.”
The magnitude of generic storms has also been impacted by climate change. In certain instances, what was previously heavy rain is now turning into flooding, tornadoes are emerging in areas that were formerly not prone to them and winter conditions are appearing in regions that are typically tropical.
“My family is from Trinidad and Tobago,” WCHS Physics teacher Yuri Achille said. “It did not happen this year, but in 2021 there was a hail storm in Trinidad, which is extremely rare.”
Trinidad is not the only country with inherently warmer weather encountering winter-like conditions, or visa-versa. In early January 2025, the city of Pensacola, located in the Panhandle of the sunshine state of Florida, reached cold temperatures, dropping to a low of 31 degrees with a wind chill of 20 miles per hour, according to the local news site Florida Today. Such temperatures were lower than in certain Alaskan cities at the same time.
“Because of climate change, I think that less snow is taken more seriously than large amounts of snow have been in the past,” Miller said. “At least in MCPS, school is canceled for much less snow today than it would have been a decade ago. 10 years ago, school would only be canceled for [multiple inches] of snow, not a few centimeters.”
Additionally, as technology has improved, there have been significant increases in research dedicated to understanding the true causes and far-reaching implications of climate change. Such work has provided valuable insights into the factors driving climate change, including various human activities.
“Over the last 50 years the general public has a greater awareness of how our presence has affected and continues to accelerate the changes in environmental conditions,” Achille said. “[However, climate change] is a man-made problem, and each year we get closer and closer to a point of no return-[in terms of] being able to reverse the effects.”
The actions of humans have only expedited the impacts of climate change. Even the simplest acts, without thinking about it, can contribute to the issue. Seemingly innocent activities, when repeated across the globe, add up, further intensifying the effects of climate change on our planet.
“The amount of electricity used, the over-consumption of products, even the use of ChatGPT, are all ways that people can contribute to climate change without even realizing it,” Miller said. “Recycling products [instead of] buying new ones constantly, is a great place to start. Promoting the reuse of resources [is such a] simple way WCHS can reduce its environmental footprint.”
